Helmut Haller (; 21 July 1939 – 11 October 2012) was a German
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
forward. At international level, he represented
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
at three
World Cups. At club level, he played in both Germany and Italy, and won
Italian league titles with
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
and
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
.
Club career
In his club career, Haller played from 1948 until 1962 for
BC Augsburg, before being lured to Italy by a one off fee of 750,000
Marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks
A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
and an annual salary of 200,000 Marks.
Back then in Germany player salaries were officially limited to 500 Marks per month – an amount that rose to 2500 Marks after the introduction of the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
as unified first division in 1963. In Italy Haller encountered with
Albert Brülls,
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger and
Horst Szymaniak three more German World Cup participants of 1962.

Initially Haller played for
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, winning in 1964 under coach
Fulvio Bernardini the first Italian league title for the club in 23 years and the hitherto last in the club's history. From 1968 until 1973 he played for
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
where he won the league in 1972 and 1973. In 1973 Juventus – with
Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever ...
in goal,
Franco Causio,
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player.
As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...
and the Brazilian
José Altafini
José João Altafini (; born 24 July 1938), also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil, is an Italian-Brazilian former association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Although, he began his career with Sociedade ...
– reached the European Champions Cup final in Belgrade against
AFC Ajax
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...
. The
Johan Cruijff led title holder went into the lead by a fourth minute
Johnny Rep header. Haller was brought on by coach
ÄŒestmÃr Vycpálek
ÄŒestmÃr Vycpálek (15 May 1921 – 5 May 2002) was a Czech Republic, Czech football (soccer), football Association footballer, player and Association football manager, manager who played as a midfielder. He was an uncle of noted football manag ...
in the 49th minute for
Roberto Bettega
Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward.
A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his ...
, but the result stood. Two years earlier Juventus narrowly missed out in the finals of the
1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, having to concede the title to the
Billy Bremner
William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional Association football, footballer who played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, and the Scotland national football team, Scot ...
led
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
after results of 2–2 and 1–1 on the
away goal rule
Away may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair
* ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis
* Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms
* ''Away'' (TV series ...
.
In 1973, he returned to his hometown and joined
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...
, then newly created through a merger of his former club
BC Augsburg with local rivals TSV Schwaben and just promoted to the second division
Regionalliga
A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues.
The term is often associated with the Germa ...
. The club had paid just DM 44,000 for the transfer of Haller and Haller renounced a fixed salary, settling for 5% of the revenue.
''"Haller-Haller-Hallerluja"'' became the new battlecry of the team. In late summer 1973, it was not the least due to his popularity that a match in the Munich Olympic Stadium against hosts
TSV 1860 attracted an audience of estimated up to 90,000, a world record for second division matches. Augsburg finished that season first in the southern division of the Regionalliga. In the promotion the club missed out on ascension to the Bundesliga by one point to
Tennis Borussia Berlin
Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin.
History
The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ...
.
Haller retired as player in 1979.
International career
After he made his international debut at age 19 in 1958, he played in three World Cups; his first in the
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
World Cup held in Chile, the
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
World Cup in England and the
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
World Cup held in Mexico, earning a total of 33 caps and scoring 13 goals.
At the World Cup 1962, Haller was a regular of the German side that drew against Italy and overcame hosts Chile and Switzerland in the group phase, but in the quarterfinals Yugoslavia prevailed 1–0. At the World Cup 1966 he formed the West German midfield together with
Wolfgang Overath and the young
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...
. West Germany reached the final of competition and Haller scored the opening goal of the game which Germany lost 2–4 to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Along with his medal, Haller also got the match ball, though more than 30 years later he returned to England to present it to
Geoff Hurst
Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...
, who had scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
in the contest and was therefore by tradition considered to be entitled to the ball. After Portugal's
Eusébio
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Stri ...
, who scored nine goals, he was with six goals the second best marksman of the tournament. At the 1970 World Cup, where West Germany attained third place, Haller was only used in the first group match against Morocco, being replaced by
Jürgen Grabowski
Jürgen Grabowski (7 July 1944 – 10 March 2022) was a German association football, footballer. He played for Eintracht Frankfurt. He won gold medals playing for the West Germany national football team that won the European championship in 197 ...
at halftime. Haller was plagued by injury problems in the run-up to the tournament.
Style of play

Both a
playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...
and goalscorer, Haller was noted for his exceptional technique and finesse as a
striker, yet also for his weight problems, which troubled him throughout his career.
In Italy Haller is considered one of the greatest
wingers of the sixties and the defining player of Bologna. He remains famed for his "irresistible
dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
As ...
, his innate genius, his great eye for goal, his charisma."
After retirement
In later years Haller did some coaching of amateur level clubs, including FC Augsburg, and ran a fashion shop.
Personal life
On Boxing Day 2006, Haller suffered a serious heart attack and was reported to be recovering well after treatment. Later he also suffered from dementia and
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
. Haller died on 11 October 2012. He was survived by his third wife, the native Cuban Noraimy Rodriguez Guiterrez, whom he married in 2003 when she was aged just 21, two sons and a daughter.
Haller was also an uncle of
Christian Hochstätter, a long-serving
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...
player and twice West German international.
Honours
Bologna
*
Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
:
1963–64
Juventus
* Serie A:
1971–72,
1972–73
*
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
: runner-up
1972–73
*
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
: runner-up
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
*
Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since.
Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
: runner-up 1972–73
Augsburg
*
Regionalliga Süd: 1973–74
Germany
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
: runner-up
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, third place
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haller, Helmut
1939 births
2012 deaths
Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Germany
Deaths from dementia in Germany
Footballers from Augsburg
West German men's footballers
German men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Germany men's international footballers
1962 FIFA World Cup players
1966 FIFA World Cup players
1970 FIFA World Cup players
FC Augsburg players
Juventus FC players
BSV 07 Schwenningen players
Bologna FC 1909 players
Serie A players
2. Bundesliga players
Regionalliga players
West German expatriate men's footballers
West German expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy